Poll: Perry loses edge in issues fight

CNN released a pre-debate poll this morning with a number of as-expected findings: Most Republicans believe Mitt Romney will be their nominee, most think he has the best chance of beating Barack Obama and most of them think Herman Cain is the most likable candidate in the GOP field.

One finding stood out to me: More Republicans now name Mitt Romney as the candidate who is "most likely to agree with you on the issues that matter most" than name Rick Perry.

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A month ago, Perry led the field in this category, with 26 percent of respondents saying he lined up best on the issues, followed by 15 percent who named Mitt Romney and 14 percent who named Ron Paul. (Non-candidate Sarah Palin also clocked 17 percent on this question.) Herman Cain was at just 5 percent.

Now, Cain leads the field. Twenty-six percent of Republicans say he's the candidate who agrees with them most on the issues. Twenty-one percent say Romney is that guy and 16 percent name Perry.

It's not exactly right to say that means more Republicans trust Romney on the issues than Perry, because it's possible that voters currently choosing Cain as the candidate they agree with most would break for Perry over Romney in a two-man race.

But it's not a stretch to suggest the poll confirms Perry has lost his grip on his onetime role as the true conservative in the race. It's hard to see a path to the nomination for him unless he gets it back.